Chapter 20 #2
“Do you believe that?” asked Max. Mercy was staying composed, but he could see behind her straight face. The idea that Rachel had died because of their interview with the sisters was very upsetting.
He understood. He’d had several nauseating moments when he’d wondered about something similar.
“It’s very possible,” said Mercy, staring at her hands. Truman reached over and gently took one, and she gave him a weak smile. “I know Rachel didn’t mention it to you, Max, but she may have told the man in her room that she’d been questioned by the FBI.”
“What else happened at their home last night? And this morning?” he asked.
“We went through most of Rachel’s room,” said Noelle. “We really didn’t find anything of interest except a laptop. I had a tech come pick it up before we left.”
“At three in the morning?” asked Max.
“Yep. We wanted to go home at some point, and I didn’t want to leave it there. Maybe something will turn up on it. Perhaps she emailed our killer for some reason.”
“What about the rest of the house?” asked Max.
“Just a general walk-through,” said Mercy. “Noelle checked the outbuilding while I kept Cory occupied in the kitchen. And Cory didn’t know anything about the car bomb. She’d heard it happened but pretty much ignored the story.
“I also asked her if there was anyone who’d want to hurt Rachel.” Mercy exhaled. “Cory looked miserable when I asked. Said Rachel’s sleeping around often got people angry with her. Both men and women.”
“Anyone lately?”
“She wasn’t sure. She and Rachel had an informal don’t-ask, don’t-tell rule about that. Cory said she hadn’t been aware of any incidents since last summer.”
“Define incidents,” said Max.
“A woman actually came out to their house to tell Rachel to stay away from her husband. Cory was there too. Said the woman and Rachel screamed at each other for fifteen minutes, and then she left. As far as Cory knew, that was the end of the affair.” Mercy frowned.
“That doesn’t feel like the right word.”
“Dalliance?” suggested Noelle.
“That’s a little better,” agreed Mercy. “We did learn that Rachel had been cleaning houses. Cory said her jobs weren’t very regular, and Rachel spent everything she earned.”
“Got any client names?” asked Max.
“Yes. I’ll forward them.”
Max wrote cleaning houses and affairs under Rachel’s name. “Any other surprises about Rachel?”
“We’re making her seem like a bad person,” said Noelle. “She wasn’t. Cory said she regularly volunteered at the animal shelter and even did free housekeeping for a few senior citizens in Eagle’s Nest.”
“That was her?” asked Truman. “A few months ago someone in town told me that a woman was cleaning her grandmother’s home and a few of her neighbors’ at no charge.”
“Cory said Rachel didn’t like sitting around,” said Noelle. “So if she didn’t have any paying jobs, she’d do some for free. I guess this led to a few referrals for paying customers. And yes, I also got her free-client information, which I’ll send to you.”
“Thank you.” Max added free housekeeping jobs and animal shelter under Rachel’s name. A small swirl of guilt spread up his throat. He hadn’t been aware of how harshly he’d judged Rachel Johnson until that moment. “When’s her autopsy?” he asked gruffly.
“Same as John Doe Two,” said Mercy. “Should be today or tomorrow. I told Cory I’ll be there.”
“I’ll attend John Doe One,” said Noelle.
“A bit off topic, but what about Emma Chambers?” asked Truman. “Someone should check in with her today. Ina had the impression that Emma’s father hadn’t been around much lately.”
“I’ll stop by,” said Noelle.
“I’ve got clothes you can take,” said Mercy. “Kaylie cleaned out her closet yesterday when I told her about Emma.”
“Will that be okay with Emma?” asked Truman. “We don’t want to offend her.”
“I’ll make it work,” said Noelle.
“Let’s divide up these,” said Max, tapping the board. “Deschutes County has promised more manpower. And Truman has too.” He nodded at the police chief.
Mercy turned to her husband. “You can’t spare anyone.”
“I told Max I’d cover anything that came up within the town limits.
” He paused. “So far that’s nothing,” he added wryly.
“Well, that’s not quite true. Ben is keeping an eye on Tom Mumford from the hotel—turns out he didn’t lie about his name.
His address in Idaho checked out too. I also have my ear to the ground for any rumors from town or the high school.
Don’t know if that will help with the car bombing, though. ”
“I asked Oakleigh why she said she should get a restraining order against Tom Mumford,” said Max. “She said he’d been at the hotel for three days and would always hang out in the lobby during her shift. Said he’d follow her to her car when she finished working.”
“Jesus,” said Noelle.
“The night before Rachel was shot, Tom tailed her to her car again. She grabbed a revolver from under her seat and pointed it at his crotch. Told him she’d shoot off his balls if he came near her again.
He hightailed it back to his room.” Max shook his head.
“She didn’t seem scared of him. Claimed he was just a pain in the ass. ”
“I’m not so sure about that,” said Noelle. “Sounds like he has a problem to me. He admitted he cornered Rachel near the ice machine. He’s going to step over a line sooner or later.”
“I’d say he’s stepped over several lines already,” said Truman. “Have we eliminated him as a suspect for Rachel’s murder?”
“We haven’t,” said Max. “That’s pretty cocky if he shot her, then stepped into his own room next door and stuck around. Or else stupid.”
“His prints are in the system,” said Truman. “He got in some trouble back home. If they turn up in Rachel’s room, we’ll know it.”
“Find out if he has any weapons registered,” said Max.
“Already did,” said Truman. “Four handguns and eight long guns.”
“That’s an arsenal,” said Noelle.
“Not around here,” said Truman. “I know lots of citizens who have upwards of twenty guns. They have different reasons for buying each of them. Some collect, some will buy a different one depending on what they’re hunting or even skeet shooting.
Some are sentimental purchases. Like they learned to shoot on a particular type of gun when they were a kid, or they might have inherited the weapons. ”
“He’s right,” said Mercy.
Max still didn’t understand the need for so many weapons, but he knew Mercy and Truman had better insight into the local population.
Max looked at his whiteboard. “I think these deaths are all tied together,” he said.
“We don’t have proof yet, but my gut tells me they are.
Did Tom Mumford seem like the type of person who could rig a car bomb? ”
No one answered.
Max had his doubts.
Mumford could have paid someone to do it.
“Let me know if he gets ready to leave town,” he said to Truman, who nodded. “Once we have all three bullets from the murders, hopefully that’ll let us know if I’m right about the connection between the deaths.”
It was a big if. The bullets might be from three different weapons.
One step at a time.